Method and apparatus for drilling glass sheets



y 1953 E. H. MCLAQUGHLIN 2,638,084

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRILLING GLASS SHEETS Filed Dec. 29-, 1951 3Sheets-Sheet l (Ittornegii May 12, 1953 E. H. M LAUGHLIN METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR DRILLING GLASS SHEETS Filed Dec. 29, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 250 a4 55 as 52 29 27 is y 1o 51 if? H'- 55 23 V 9 6 1 I i e as "J l 26/%J 45 Z4 5s 1 1 46 I 19 57, 55 56 F I 44 16 A 69 r 15 15 l 6's i Um,

Q1 9-\=-\ R MM r ffi 16 57 -=3 55 5 7 59 49 3nventor Gttornegak May 12,1953 E. H. MCLAUGHLIN 2,638,034

- METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRILLING GLASS SHEETS Filed Dec. 29, 1951 aSheets-Sheet 5 ZSnventor Patented May 12, 1953 ztiatsif UNITEDSTAT-eseatem o-FFicE METHOD ANDKABBARATUS FO DRIL I GLASS Eli a.McLaughlin, Toledo, ()hio' Application December 29, 1351, SerialNo.26??? 5" Claims.

This invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for drillingholes in glas sheets,

although it is to be underStood that it can also be edges by virtue ofthe centrifugal action of the rotating tool.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a drillingapparatus for glass sheets which is self-contained andportable'.

It is a further object or this invention to'provide a portable drillingapparatus for'glass sheets with built-in or selfecontairied pumpingmeans, such that a coolant can be recirculated through a hollow drilltool in said apparatus, thereby obviating the necessity of continuouslysupplying a coolant from an outside source.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an adjustingdevice for a portable drill lng apparatus to enable an operator to drillthrough a glass sheet entirely from one side and yet not shatter orfracture the opposite side thereof. I

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparentduring the course of the following description when taken inconnecbroken away taken substantially on broken line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional front View of the drill spindle assemblytaken along the center of the spindle;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the drill spindle assembly andpinion gear housing taken substantially on broken line 55 of Fig. ,3;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the drill spindle assembly takensubstantially on broken line 6-45 of Fig. 3; i

g. '7 is an enlarged sectional view o fthe drill spindle assembly takensubstantially on broken line 'l-'! of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 an enlarged sectional front v ewer the coolant cup assembly; andV Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional front view of an alternative form ofcoolant cup assembly. r

Referring now in particular to the drawings, there is illustrated in its1 a form ofthe portable drill press apparatus embodied in this inventionand designated generally as it; Providing a support for the apparatus isa substantially rectan ular base plate H, which is adapted to rest onthe sun-see of the glass sheet to he drilled means of felt pads I2Handles iii are conveniently located on the u "r surface of the easeplate for moving the entire apparatus from one position to another.

A bearing column M is secured to and upstai't ids from said ase piste bymeans are e te 15. The column. eiitends through a lower frame matter 15,a pinion gear housing ii and an up er frame member H3. The ooliimn thusprovides 9; mil rig surface for the vertio'al movement of said framelilnibers relative tlll'to, While the pilglill gear housing is attachedto said dolunin by means of bolt l9; as shown in Fig. in such a meterthat a slight turning of s bolt will release said housing from itattachment to said coluirin.

Lower name mem er It is yieldahly supporte on said column by helicalcan, spring 2! bet collar 15 and said lower frame. A has ,fi' as member21 is secured to the upper lower frames has outwardly extending ears 2?!(Fig. 2 for the reception of s ster adjusting rods and guide bushin smotor sussort plate 24 is detachah'ly secured to the appetite ends ofsaid rods by of A' best shown in 2, said plate is V-shap'd in crosssectiql l and receives a motor 25 which is bolted thereto. Thus, it canbe seen that the motor is supported in a manner such that it can hereadily removed from its'support.

Extending vertically from motor 2i: is a drive shaft}? to which are keyea plurality of pulley wheels 23 of a variable speedpulley unit, Trainedover one of said pulley wheels is a flexible po transmitting belt 39 bywhich another pulley wheels 38 of said unit are driven. A. collar 3|surrounds an upwardly extending should roll motor 26 and is removahlyattached there o by set screw. as shown in Figs. 2 A helt guard housing3;! rigidly securedat one end to a portion of said collar and extendsover the belt and puliey unit in a manner shown in Fig. 3.

At a point longitudinally and toward the opposite end of said housing isa recess through which a pin extends. A wing nut 34 is threaded onto theupper end of said pin and against the upper surface of the housing, andthe lower end of the pin is threadedly received in upper frame memberE8, such that the housing is removably secured to the frame as well asto motor 26. Belt guard housing 32 is also recessed at 35 to allow thepassage of bearing column I4 therethrough in a manner to be explainedsubsecuently.

Keyed to pulley wheels 30 and driven thereby is a downwardly extendingspindle 36 which is journaled in a spindle housing, designated generallyas 3?. An oblong middle member 38 of said spindle housing is rigidlysecured at its back side to a front frame member 39 which in turn isrigidly secured to upper and lower frame members iii and it. Otherportions of the housing include a flat top plate 40 bolted to middleme1nber 38, ball bearings ii disposed below said plate and in a recessedannular portion 42 at the top of member 38. and a bushing 43 received ina fiat bottom plate M and its downwardly extending neck.

Thus, it can now be seen that spindle 36 is rotated by the abovedescribed power-transmitting mechanism relatively to spindle housing 3'!and the frame members. Also, said spindle, along with its housing, theframe members, and the said power-transmitting mechanism, can be movedvertically with respect to bearing column I4 by means of a toothed rack45, secured to front frame 39 and extending vertically betweenthe upperand lower frame members, and a meshing pinion gear 45 rotatably securedwith re spect to pinion gear housing I! as at 4?. As best shown in Fig.5, inasmuch as pinion gear housing I? is secured to column H! by bolt itso as to be movable vertically therewith and pinion gear dB is held inmeshing engagement with rack 45 by means of bolt 11, a turning of saidpinion gear on said rack will cause spindle 35, as well as upper andlower frame members and recess 35, to move vertically in sliding overcolumn M. Further, bolt ll prevents the pinion gear 46 and rack 45, aswell as the frame members, the spindle housing and thepower-transmitting mechanism from turning in a horizontal plane. On theother hand, the entire apparatus, including the pinion gear and itshousing, may be moved vertically to any desired extent and more rapidlyby merely loosening bolt IS. A knurled hand wheel. 553 is attached to anextension '59 on said pinion gear and provides means for manualmanipulation of the same and thereby moving the spindle 36 in a verticaldirection.

In the side of middle member 38 of spindle housings? is an intakeopening 50 which is threaded so as to receive a nozzle to which isconnected a flexible hose 52. Opening 50 com municates with a downwardlyextending intake passage in said middle member, as best shown in Fig. 4.The interior of the lower end of said middle member is recessed at 54 toprovide communication between the lower end of said intake passage andthe lower end of an outlet passage 55 by means of a driving gear 56 anddriven gear 5! disposed in opposite sides of said recess (see Fig. 5).As best shown in Fig. 3 driving gear 55 is keyed to and driven byspindle 3G, and driven gear 5'! meshes with said driving gear and turnson a. spindle journaled in said middlemember. Thus, it can be seen thata coolant supply to intake opening and passage 53 will be fed to outletpassage by means of gears 56 and 5'! upon the rotation of spindle 36.That is, as the gears 56 and 5'! rotate in recess 54, coolant will betrapped or pocketed between the teeth of said gears and the outer wallsof said recess and thus be continuously fed from intake passage 53 tooutlet passage 55. As best shown in Figs. l and 7, the outlet passageextends upwardly from recess 54 beyond the upper end of the intakepassage and communicates at its upper end with an annular recess 58 insaid middle member and surrounding spindle 36.

The lower portion of the spindle is hollow and, at the upper end of itshollowed portion, has a plurality of radially extending apertures 59communicating with annular recess 58 such that the coolant, upon beingfed to outlet passage 55, will pass into said annular recess and intothe hollow portion of spindle 36 during its rotation. The lower end ofsaid spindles hollow portion is tapered interiorly as at Bil tofrictionally receive a correspondingly exteriorly tapered hollow neck ofa tube-like drilling tool or bit 6!. Secured to the lower end of saiddrilling tool is a common form of diamond impregnated cutting edge orcrown 62. Both the crown and the lower end of the tool to which it issecured are slotted as at 63, for a purpose to be subsequentlyexplained. Thus, the coolant will pass from the hollow portion of thespindle through tool 6i into. communication with the cutting edge orcrown 62 and outwardly therefrom through slots 63 as the tool is loweredonto the sheet to be drilled.

In axial alignment with said spindle and tool is a substantiallysemi-circular recess 6 in the forward end of base plate ll. Looselyreceived in said recess is a correspondingly shaped mat 55 of spongerubber or other resilient sealing material, on top of which is aring-1ike member 66 which is threaded interiorly as shown in Fig. 8. Mat65 and ring ,66 are held within said recess when disposed over a sheetof glass G by means of retaining discs 6'! on base plate ll. Mat iiii isapertured at 68 so that when it is so held, tool 6! is in axialalignment therewith for passage therethrough upon downwardly movement.Threadedly received in ring 66 is a cylindrical coolant cup 63 the outerportion of which is knurled to facilitate insertion thereof into saidring. lower end of the cup is tapered as shown in Fig. 8 so as topresent a sharp edge to mat 65 and thus seal in water-tight relation thelower end of the cup when it is inserted into ring 66. It can be seen insaid figure that hose 52 extends downwardly from nozzle 5! into thecoolant cup.

For use with tools of smaller diameter, there is shown in Fig. 9 analternative form of coolant cup assembly. In this instance, the mat 6 5,has an aperture 68 of smaller diameter and in addition thereto aring-like adapter plate Ill. As shown, the adapter plate is frictionallyreceived in the tapered end of coolant cup 69 and over said mat. Anaperture 7! through said'adapter plate is in axial alignment withaperture 68 and is surrounded by an annular ridge '62 which bites intothe mat and, as in the other form, thus provides a water-tight seal forcup 68 when said cup is inserted into ring 65. Thus, it can be seen thata number of differently sized tools may be used in connection with thisapparatus.

In the light of the foregoing description, the improved coolingoperation of this apparatus can be described in the following manner.That is,

The.

Ma-aces 5, upon being placed in th desired. position over the glasssheet all, waterrtlght cup is filled with coolant and hose 521s placedin said cup below the level of the coolant. the spindle and tool arerotatedand simultaneously lowered into the cup and onto the sheet to bedrilled, the coolant is forced by the centr gal action said tool than anslots into .se 52 and: intake passage From the intalzcpassae'e thecoolant is fed-b; gears 58 and into outlet passage 55, and from there itis drawn into and through the hollow spindle and tool by the lowpressure area sated therein by the rotating tool. Thus, there isprovided in this apparatus selfcontainsd and continuoush recirculatingcooung system.

Beneath and surrounding the part of the sheet to be drilled is acylindrical waste cup 713 which can be removably attached to sheetbyrneansof suction cups ill on anannulcr of said cup. The purpose of thecup, of course, is to catch the coolant and drilled class. portion asthe tool passes .theretllroush.

In a there is illustrated adjust-ins device, designated enerally as it,for ind-icatmg to the operator of hand wheel. 43 that the crown of toolit has reached a certain depth in its drllling operation with respect tothe bottom of the glass sheet. Extending outwardly from lower framemember it is a flange it which threadedly receives an adjusting screwll. On the lower portion of said screw is a knurled handle 18 and at thebottom, a hat abutment it. On the upper end of the screw is a nut 88 bywhich said screw can be locked in place.

To the side of tool ill in Fig. l are a number of broken lines tl-fi i,inclusive, by which the method for using this device is illustrated.distance between the lines 85 and 82 represents the thickness of baseplate ll, lines 32 and ils the thickness of felt pads 52, and betweenlines and 3 the thickness of the sheet to be drilled. Thus, with thedevice positioned as illustrated, the distance from line 34 to thebottom of crown E2 on the tool represents the distance between thebottom of said crown and the underside of the sheet when abutment 19comes to rest on the top side of the base plate l i. In other words, itrepresents the clearance which the operator has chosen in order to avoiddrilling all the way through the sheet ntirely from one side thereof atsame speed at which the tool descend-e: through the drilled portion ofsaid sheet. Therefore, all that is necessary in using this device is todetermine the thicknesses of the base plate, felt pads and sheet ofglass and to subtract from th total thereof the desired clearance. Theabutment then elevated above the top surface of the base plate adistance equal to the difference and the screw is locked in place by out$363. When the abutment comes to rest on the top surface of the baseplate and it is only necessary to drill. the thickness of the clearance,the nut is loosened and the adjusting screw raised such that the toolcan be lowered slowly through the clearance. In this way, it has beenfound that the underside of the sheet surrounding the drilled outportion will not shatter or fracture.

in; best shown in Fig. 6 there is an annular recess 35 in spindlehousing l and surrounding spindle 35 at a point below ball bearings lland above recess 515. A plurality of drip holes 86 extend outwardly fromsaid recess and provide communication with the outside of said housingfor disposing of coolant which may accumulate 6 betwe on said spindleand housing above recess to.

Dealing now with the drill press apparatus Hi in its entirety, theadvantagesto be gained are apparent. The apparatus is carried by means.or handles I 3 to any-desired location andplaced over the glass sheetwhich is to. be drilled in such a. manner that-the portion thereof to bedrilled isbeneathtool El and. is unsupported. The tool is accuratelypositioned over the portion to be drilled loycentering mat E5 thereover.The tool isthen lowered into the coolant cup so in close proximity tothe upper surface of the sheet and the adjusting device 7:5 is set forthe desired clearance in the manner previously described. Coolant isthen placed in thecup along with hose 52, and the motor is operated torotate the tool. As the tool is rotating and the coolant is beingrecirculated in a manner that has been described in detail, the tool ismanually lowered by means ofhand wheel 48. The cutting action occurs, oicourse, as the cutting edge or crown til contacts the sheet and isafiected by the grinding action of the diamond particles embedded insaid edge. When the cutting edge reaches the clearance point, abutmentT9 rests on the base plate H and the cutting edge is prevented fromcutting further into the sheet. As described, the cutting edgethereafter is descended through the remaining thickness or clearance ofthe glass sheet.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention disclosed hereinis to be taken as the preferred embodiment thereof, and that variouschanges in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus adapted to be supported on a glass sheet or the like fordrilling holes therein comprising, a coolant container over said sheet,a housing disposed above said container, a hollow, rotary drill spindleJ'ournaled in said housing, a tube-like drill tool attached to andcommunicating with said spindle, a conduit between said container and anopening in said housing, means internally or said housing for deliveringa coolant from said opening to said drill tool, and. means for loweringsaid tube-like drill tool into said container and onto said sheet.

2. An apparatus of the character defined in claim 1, in which saidcoolant delivering means comprises passages connecting said opening tosaid hollow drill spindle and feed gears driven by said rotary spindleand disposed between said passages.

3. An apparatus adapted to be supported on a glass sheet or the like fordrilling holes therein comprising, a coolant container over said sheet,a housing disposed above said container, a hollow, rotary drill spindlejournaled in said housing, a tube-like drill tool attached to andcommunicating with said spindle, a ring-like cutting edge on the lowerend of said tool, downwardly extending slots through said cutting edgeand the lower end of said tool, a conduit between said container and anopening in said housing, means internally of said housing for deliveringa coolant from said opening to said drill tool, and means for loweringsaid tube-like drill tool into said container and said cutting edge ontosaid sheet.

4. An apparatus. adapted to be supported on a glass sheet or the likefor drilling holes therein comprising, a downwardly extending hollowdrill coolant container below said tool and above said sheet, a conduitconnecting said container and an opening in said housing, passagesinternally of said housing providing communication between said openingand said hollow drill spindle, means in said housing and operativelyconnected with said spindle for feeding coolant through said passages,and means for simultaneously rotating and lowering said tool into saidcoolant container and said edge onto said sheet.

5. An apparatus adapted to be supported on a glass sheet or the like fordrilling holes therein comprising, a housing elevated from said sheet, ahollow spindle journaled in said housing, a hollow drill tooloperatively connected to and movable with said spindle, a cutting edgeon the lower end of said tool, downwardly extending slots through saidcutting edge and the lower end of the tool, a coolant cup below saidtool and over said sheet, a hose connecting said coolant cup and anintake opening in said housins, passages internally of said housingoperatively connecting said intake opening to said cutting edge, meansfor lowering said tool and edge into said coolant cup and onto the glasssheet, and means for simultaneously rotating said tool and edge wherebyacoolant will be expelled outwardly from the interior thereof throughthe slots therein I and drawn into said passages through said hose.

ELI H. MoLAUGI-ILIN.

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